Pea Soup With Black-Cat Croutons - W

• 5 slices bacon
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 large celery rib, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (32 ounce) cartons low sodium chicken broth
• 12 cup water
• 1 12 cups split peas, rinsed
• 1 (5 ounce) bagbaby mixed greens
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
• 1 12 teaspoons salt
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 8 slices frozen firm pumpernickel bread (thin slices)
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 cup sour cream (optional)

1. MAKE SOUP:
2. Saute bacon in large pot over medium-high heat until crisp and brown.
3. Remove and set aside.
4. Add onion, carrot and celery to pan; saute until vegetables begin to soften.
5. Add garlic; saute for 1 minute.
6. Add broth, water, peas, bay leaves and thyme; bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover pot and simmer until vegetables are tender and peas fall apart, stirring occasionally, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
8. REMOVE BAY LEAVES!
9. Puree 5 cups soup in batches in blender and return to pot.
10. Stir in salt and season with pepper to taste.
11. MAKE CROUTONS:
12. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
13. Remove pumpernickel slices from freezer and let thaw for 5 minutes.
14. Mix butter with olive oil in a small bowl.
15. Use a cat cookie cutter to cut a shape from each partially frozen slice of bread.
16. Lightly brush cutouts with butter mixture and arrange on a cookie sheet.
17. Bake until crisp, about 15 minutes.
18. Cool croutons in pan on a rack.
19. To serve, ladle soup into bowls.
20. Crumble reserved bacon on top.
21. Add a cat crouton and a dollop of sour cream to each bowl.

bacon, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, chicken broth, water, peas, bay leaves, thyme, salt, fresh ground black pepper, bread, butter, olive oil, sour cream

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/pea-soup-with-black-cat-croutons-w-191281 (may not work)